Nokia Press Bulletin Board

JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT 

The working group established by Nokia and Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) government met for the first time today following Nokia’s January 15, 2008 announcement that it plans to close its site in Bochum. 

During the meeting the parties discussed a number of ideas on how Nokia and the NRW government could encourage and support employment initiatives and entrepreneurial activities in the Bochum area. The purpose of these discussions is to find ways to create alternative employment opportunities for affected Nokia employees as soon as possible. This was the first of several such meetings the two parties expect to have on the matter. 

“We welcome the formation of this working group, which has shown us that Nokia sincerely wants to contribute to the future development of the Bochum area,” said Dr. Jens Baganz, NRW Secretary of State. “The activities of Nokia and the NRW government will contribute to the economic development activities that we have been conducting in the region for many years.” 

“Nokia expects to continue discussing with representatives from Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal German government in order to find good solutions for the future of the Nokia employees,” said Kristian Pullola, Nokia. “It is important now that this working group with the NRW government takes decisive action in order to produce concrete proposals that we can start implementing promptly.” 

The NRW team will be headed by Dr. Jens Baganz. The other NRW representatives in the working group are Dr. Patrick Opdenhoevel, NRW Minister-President’s Office, Head of Division Government Coordination; Marina Weichhardt-Hilgers, NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, Head of Unit Preservation of Enterprises; David Scrimgeour, Consultant, Munich; and Dr. Martin Grimm, Real Estate Consultant, Essen. 

The Nokia team will be headed by Kristian Pullola, Vice President & Nokia Treasurer. The other Nokia representatives are Juha Äkräs, Senior Vice President, Human Resources; Michael Bueltmann, Senior Legal Counsel, Nokia GmbH; and Maximilian Kammerer, Vice President, Customer Care. The Nokia team reports to Rick Simonson, Nokia’s Chief Financial Officer and a member of the company’s Group Executive board. Mr. Simonson, who has significant experience in supporting industrial and technology initiatives in their different phases, has been appointed by Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo to oversee Nokia’s future role in the region. 

The NRW government and Nokia have been receiving expressions of interest from investors, both German and foreign. Potential investors should make contact with either NRW officials or Nokia directly.